Is Gasly praying for a Ricciardo Red Bull exit?

The latest undergraduate at the Toro Rosso school of hard knocks opens up to ANTHONY ROWLINSON about failing friendships, the pressure of media commitments and why Kevin Magnussen's aggression in Baku was "a bit too much"

Keen and bright-eyed as a Labrador pup, Pierre Gasly bounds up the stairs of the Red Bull Energy Station. He's eager not to be late for his appointment with the readers of F1 Racing, whose questions await.

It's a promising sign. Plenty of young drivers enter Formula 1 ready to play the big 'I am' before achieving anything. Not this one, who presents himself as smart, quick-witted and composed. All are attributes that will serve him well as a Red Bull junior, for this team's racing overlord, Dr Helmut Marko, brooks no compromise in his search for talents that fit his template. Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo were best exemplars of his ideal: as quick with their wits as they are on track, self-possessed and capable of elbows-out circuit-smarts in pursuit of a big result.